The Lost Experience - Lostpedia

Description

The Lost Experience (aka TLE) was an alternate reality game (ARG) designed by the writers and producers of Lost to engage fans and expand the storyline. It was the first Lost ARG, although it was preceded by ABC marketing department's viral marketing website oceanic-air.com. The Lost Experience began in May 2006 during the broadcast of the last few episodes of Season 2 in the United States and the UK (and mid-season in Australia), and ran through the hiatus until just before the start of Season 3. It was followed in 2008 by a smaller-scale ARG called Find 815, between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4, as well as another ARG, the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project, between Season 4 and Season 5.

The Lost Experience was co-developed by three TV companies, America's ABC, Australia's Channel Seven and the United Kingdom's Channel Four. The writer of The Lost Experience has been identified as Jordan Rosenberg by Carlton Cuse. [1] All in-game websites (with the exception of the sponsor sites) were developed by UK Design Agency Hi-ReS! [2], who had previously created the Lost The Untold site for United Kingdom's Channel Four.

According to a New York Times article, the game would be "a multimedia treasure hunt that makes use of e-mail messages, phone calls, commercials, billboards and fake Web sites that are made to seem real." The Lost Experience was created by the show's actual writers and will progress the storyline.

The Lost Experience was internet-based and featured a parallel story line that was not part of the TV show. There were no winning prizes, but the Experience claimed to offer clues that could unlock some of the Island's many secrets. It included the introduction of new characters and the mysterious Hanso Foundation. Clues were varied by continent, so participants would benefit from coordinating their information via the internet. ABC said the game was designed to appeal to both fans and people unfamiliar with Lost.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse first mentioned the ARG in the official podcast that the Hanso Foundation website, which was offline for several months (or in their words, "down for remodeling").

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